


Who we are...

by InkyCreatures



Category: Hellboy (Comics), Hellboy (Movies 2004-2008), Hellboy - All Media Types, The Shape of Water (2017), The shape of Water (Book)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Based after Garden of Souls, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, DNA test, Established Relationship, Headcanon, Inspired by The Shape of Water (2017), M/M, Old Married Couple, That adventure happens to be finding another amphibian man, This started as a joke omg, Weird boyfriends on an adventure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-21 05:34:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30016896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkyCreatures/pseuds/InkyCreatures
Summary: Abraham Sapien, Langdon Everett caul. Inhabitants of the same body but desperately different in the soul. The flesh they exchanged morphed by events that would turn the Scientist into the reborn Oanne, God of the water.It's been a year or so since Abraham discovered the man that he used to be, a year since he and Ben decided enough shared trauma to confirm their romantic feelings for each other. So when Daimo comes into the study waving around an antique file, Abe didn't assume it was about him or the Oanne's society at all.Intrigued by the Baltimore Fish god. Ben and Abraham set out to discover the story of Elisa Esposito and her unusual lover.
Relationships: Ben Daimio/Abe Sapien
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Who we are...

Abraham was sprawled out on the stiff lounge of the study, a heavy book weighed down his arms more than his mind. The words of "An Artist's foray into Blood Painting" were dull and written clearly for the agents who were new to the study of Paranormal painting and artwork. His eyes tiredly drifted over to the stocked bookshelf, he had read almost every volume on the walls, some multiple times if the book was interesting enough. Boredom struck him hard in between missions and assignments. Amidst the action and heavy research, he could almost drown out the way his mind fled back to the Oanne's society or Langdon. Although currently, he had the pleasure of the distractions of a certain Agent. One he could hear trodding down the Bureau hallway now.

The metal vault door opened passively, revealing the broad-shouldered Agent standing put at the entrance of the study, a wax-sealed folder held in his scarred hands. Abe cocked his head at the sealed paper, warded, just like the files that used to contain Hellboy's original paperwork. "Where'd you get that?" Abe asked curiously as Daimo stepped forward, into the study. He was sharply dark against the shades of the library, warm tones of browns and red contrasted against the cool grey tones of his uniform. "Archives, cleaners are doing a sweep, moving all the sensitive information to a more protected area since the coordinates keep getting dropped" The agent explains as he closes in on Abraham's lounging form. "Why'd it catch your interest," Abe said as he put his webbed hand out for the file, "Most Files before 1970 are colder than a Tibetian Yeti in an icebox" He joked as the sealed parchment became weight in his hand.

"I know, and typically I'd contribute most of them to the rise of Satanic panic but this one... well it caught my eye" He chuckled with a hint of a tease as he dropped down beside Abe, his leather boots kicked up on the antique coffee table. Abe smiled gently at the hand upon his thigh, the agent not even knowing he had placed it there. His attention was drawn back to the folder, his textured hands moving over the drips of wax coating the outside. "Strange..." Abe muttered as he flipped the file, Ben turned his head slightly, "It's Sealed by the BRPD but it's not...a BRPD FIle?" He questioned as he showed the label covered in wax. "OARC? I haven't heard of that branch" Damio took the file back, tilting it slightly "I think it was an old Aerospace research program, they weren't apart of the BRPD but they were raided for some reason or another" Ben explains as he hands the yellowed folder back. Abe gives a slightly interested hum as he cracks open the wax seal. "The observation and capture of Asset 0023, The Amazonian...Fish god".

Abe immediately tore the papers free from the envelope, disappointed to see the pages were limited and thin in his hands. He read through every word carefully, eyes scanning over the typewriter font almost frantically. He pulled the paper in closer as his breathing grew shallow, absorbing each paragraph written by a bewildered scientist or a terrified guard. His attention was grabbed as he flipped through the last page, a plastic slip containing charcoal drawings. They were morphed by time, moisture buckling some sections but Abraham could still see the resemblance. His fingers gently pressed on the plastic-covered art, Daimio glancing from the charcoal print to Abe's face. "Is that... you?" Ben asked as he carefully took the plastic sleeve from Abe's slightly shaking hands. "It can't be, this 'Asset' was caught in the Amazon river in the 1960s, I was still in cryosleep until 1978... Not to mention I could speak from my awakening and while I have the odd craving for expired eggs, I have never wanted to eat a live cat!" Abe pushed the file completely to Ben. "Our discoveries were so close together, how could I not know about this?" He asked, turning to Ben for answers he knew he didn't have.

Ben pulled Abe to him, the Amphibian pressed safely against his shoulder. "He wasn't found, is it possible he could've got back to the Amazon?" Ben asked, trying to hide the raise in octaves at the mention of the rainforest. "I couldn't swim that far but... he... maybe," Abe said with not a hint of certainty in his voice. "We could... look?" Ben offered stiffly, Abe glanced at him solemnly before shaking his head. "I know my history, I don't need to chase down some being just because we... look similar" Abe explained, Daimo gently caressing his shoulder. "But you want to?" Ben offered again and was answered by Abe tucking his face away from view. "Well that settles it then, I am assigning Agents Brother Blue and Daimo on Mission: Find the doppelganger" Ben half teased as Abraham groaned into his clothed shoulder. "You hate the forest" He mumbled, muffled by the body in front of his face. "But II care about you, and this is important to you" Ben explained, laughing when Abe weakly punched him as a form of affection.

The process to get the mission in motion was simple enough, the Bureau was happy enough to spend cash on planes and boats as long as two of their freaks were out doing something and not tearing up the library for entertainment. While it had been a thrill to receive the official go-ahead, soon enough the two of them had their stocklist of doubts. Ben was getting jumpy, he could almost hear the jaguar purring against his skin, the beast was entertained by the very thought of the jungle. He could take its incessant noise if the damn thing would stop trying to jump out at every little thing. A dropped coffee cup was enough to send him into a panic. Abraham was another case, his thoughts were as jumbled as ever. His identity was certain, there were no possibilities of him being related to this creature considering the periods and locations but something else nagged him. What if this "Asset" had once been able to communicate and speak like him, what if over time they had become more animalistic with gnashing fangs and claws. Abe read what the Asset had done, able to crush bone and rip flesh while restrained and sedated, Abraham's biteforce was severely limited. He once bit Ben's arm while they were play-sparring and the result was nothing more than a few evenly spaced bruises. To say the least, neither of them were in the most excitable of moods when they boarded the jet. 

The flight was brief, with Abe running every detail he knew about the Asset into the small laptop he carried onto the cozy jet. Ben slept just barely on his shoulder, shoving him if he moved too much while typing. He went over the death certificates of individuals involved in the case, formally the Asset had killed three individuals while housed at the Occam facility. Dr Robert Hoffstatler, Richard Strickland, and a janitorial woman who had aided in his escape by the name of Elisa Esposito. Though this was heavily disputed by a neighbour and a fellow janitorial woman, both of who aided the creature in its escape. He was stumped however as to why the Asset decided to take the body of Miss Esposito with him into the canals when he escaped Baltimore. Was it a burial for the only human who had shown him kindness or perhaps the creature simply misunderstood her biology and drowned her? Abe finally shut down his laptop when Ben shoved him again. He moved on to practising his sign language with hopes the asset retained some of the communication noted by Doctor Hoffstatler. 

Ben grew more irritated as the plane touched down in Ecuador, the forest rumbled from under his feet and loomed quietly in the distance. If your idea of quiet was macaws screaming their heads off from the treetops. Abe was uneasy as well, though that fell mostly upon the people wandering near their plane. Ben's scarred features were enough to grab attention but most people assumed he was a soldier of some kind and moved on, Abraham however could not be so easily explained away. He was dressed in his full BRPD uniform additionally with a hood just to obscure his features a bit from the general public. He wasn't as ashamed of his appearance as he had been previously but if the fish god was known in the area, it was probably best to keep a low profile.

The boat was low in the water, with no railings guarding the edges. Abe leaned down to Daimio "If you fall into that" He gestured to the green-tinted water, floating garbage dancing around the reeds. "Im not getting in to save you" He warned teasingly, receiving a shove. "If you fall in, you can clean yourself up" Ben teased back as he walked up the ramp, shouldering their bags, "I hope you get Gill mites" Abe gasped in an offended tone as he followed Ben onto the boat. "Maybe one of those parasites people pull out of shrimp" Ben offered again and Abe physically gagged. The boat was sturdy looking and Abraham couldn't help but notice the metal locking mechanisms on the inside of every door, window, and hatch. "Heavy-duty..." He muttered as he touched one, the metal cold against his hand. "You Sapien?" Abe barely contained a yelp as the captain of the ship exited the cabin. "You're Abraham?" He repeated. He was old but not withered by his days in the sun, his dark skin was warm and retained more life than either of the agents. "Yes! Apologies, I'm Abraham and this is my associate, Ben Daimio. You are Captain Mera?" Abe introduced them both and accepted an offer for a handshake being his hands were still gloved.

"I hope the Bureau described everything clearly for you," Abe said as the man retracted his hand, slyly wiping it against his coat. "Sure, if you mean two sentences telling me to mind my business for coin" Mera replied, looking back into the cabin. "I've got hammocks for you below deck, I recommend you stay down there while we are passing villages" With a questioning look from the agents he continues "That American, people in the villages haven't forgotten what he did. Seeing a... You... On the boat might be enough to trigger a mass panic". " Mass panic?" Daimio repeated with a worried look towards Abe. "The day they caught it, dragged it out of the depths blood covered and enraged. I guess we had grown used to its presence in the water because once it was gone we began to wither. People who had lived well into old age with no sign of illness were struck down with unknown diseases, no young were born and no crops could be raised with the water from the river or the rain." He explained shakily, wetting his lips. "It's calm waters for now, whenever it got out of that place it managed to bring the life back. Though the Villagers are unlikely to let their god be taken again, they may just sink any boat they think could take him" The captain sunk back to the wheel, "Get acquainted with your quarters" He ordered quietly and the two agents did so.

The room was below deck and as dark and dingy as they had expected. Two net hammocks were all the furniture present other than the large chests used for storage. "Is it wrong to miss the Balikpapan hotel room?" Daimio asked as he dropped the duffel bags onto the ground. "You hated that room" Abe reminded as he placed his smaller bag in the hammock, the sway making him a bit uneasy. "At least we had a bed" Ben replied as he glanced around the small room. "Bed or no, I'd prefer a tub with water that wouldn't give me ten diseases and a handful of parasites" Ben chuckled before his face grew still as the boat churned to movement. It was an uncomfortable feeling, the red fur and skeletal face of the jaguar pressing against the confines of his scarred skin. Abe noticed his silence and moved to him, gently placed a hand on his mauled cheek. "Thank you for coming with me, I know this isn't easy" He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss against his lips. Ben smiled just barely, arms locking around Abe's thin midsection, "You're just lucky you're pretty Abraham".

Abe didn't think Boat travel could be worse than Plane and yet here he was feeling as green as he looked. It had been a few days, yet the consistent back and forth of the motions of the boat hadn't settled. He was sure it was a laugh for the crewmates to see someone borderline aquatic try to survive on a boat without their sea legs. He was on the deck, using a bottle to pour water over his drying gills. It was when he screwed the lid back on the bottle when he heard the splash. It was gentle, something small. He looked over the unguarded edge. Eyes widening as he caught sight of pale yellow iris' watching from the murky water. Abe only had moments to capture every detail possible in the dim light before the creature sunk below the surface of the water. It was not the creature.

He raced down to his and Ben's room, snatching a notebook and pen from his partner's hands and immediately scrawling the eyes he had just seen. Once pleased it was as close as he could artistically get he opened the case file. His eyes switch between the round shape of the Asset's eyes and the almost almond shape of this new creature. He was flicking between them when he caught his visage in the small wall mirror. His eyes were dark, only barely visible were the golden and blue hues but they were distinctly the same shape as this new creature. Ben stared at him like he was losing his mind and he probably was. From then on he would spend the nights kneeling by the edge of the boat, waiting for it to reappear. But nothing came above water while he watched. However, in the mornings, there were often " items" where he was kneeling. A fish, an Eel with its head removed a necklace, a shoe, and a small collection of shells.

Abraham was just collecting his newest gift, or threat, or whatever it was when the boat stalled. The stop forced Abe forward, almost dropping him into the water. Ben raced up the ladder, securing his eyes on Abraham before going to the captain. "Somethings wrong, there's a blockage across the river" Daimio repeated to Abe as he headed to the from of the ship, looking below into the water. "It's...another ship?" Ben called out "It's like a dam? But it's not holding in any water". Abe looked over the side, the water was slightly clearer. Still green but he could see through to the bottom where many fish darted across the sand. " It's a reservoir..." Abe replied as he watched a fish bigger than him swim by, schooled by its offspring. He heard a gentle splash and his eyes were drawn to an offshoot of the river. The water was clear, running into the reservoir. 

"I'm going to regret this" Abe thought aloud as he stood at the edge of the boat. "Abraham, you don't have to do this, we can just..." Ben started but trailed off as he saw the determination. "I have to know Ben". He dropped into the water before he gave himself any more room to think. The water around him was overpowering, his abilities able to pick up even the smallest members of the ecosystem who happened to be trying to crawl on him. He saw it, just briefly, the image of scaled legs passing him. He followed, hoping this was not a trap intended for him. His gills struggled in the unfiltered water, even when he was swimming up the creek that was flowing clear water into the makeshift lake. He continued until the creek widened and the soft water-worn edges appeared before him. A pond, leafed over to protect from the sun with fish fry darting in between the thick river weeds.

He swam upward and was glad to see he was able to stand, the pond water only coming up to his midsection. He looked up when he heard a click, breath caught in between his dual lungs as he tried to make sense of the being before him. A woman with skin like a pearl, softly collared by frilled gills and shoulders speckled with blue and white. Her hair, dark like the ancient trees that shielded the pond from the sun, hung down past her shoulders. It was wet yet still seemed perfectly combed. "I... Elisa?" The call out of her name in spoken tongue shocked her, Abe could see her immediate reaction was to slip away into the water before she saw Abraham's appearance. She gazed at him before tilting her head with curiosity. She smiled before following with the sign for hello.

Abe opened and closed his mouth, unable to force words he mimicked the motion back to her. With it he held his right hand up "A...B...E" he fingerspelled to her, slightly difficult with his webbed hands. "You're supposed to be dead" He stated both in words and through his hands. Elisa tilted her head before her fingers ran across the thin openings of her flowery gills. Her signing was fluid and fast, Abe could barely keep up to translate what she had said. "Alive, Love, Heal". " He healed you? From death" Abe responded and Elisa tilted her head before slowly shaking it "Return, Birth, heal" she replied and the way her fingers grazed over the slim white marks made it seem like they had always been on her neck. 

She was signing her next sentence when the fins by her ears flicked, her eyes bright and amber were aimed at the water below Abraham. He felt panic surge through him as a hand grazed his back, the water around him rippling slightly as a body moved under the surface. He sunk back as a muscular form emerged from the surface of the water. The creature was easily taller than Abe and twice as muscular. At first, it's gills were raised, spines arched upward as it bared its fearsome teeth. It took a moment for the creature to absorb Abraham's image, his fins folding down and his mouth closing into a confused expression. His mouth parted and a rolling chirp sounded from within his throat. Abe wished he could understand but he held his palms up to start signing. 

"You, me, same?" He signed carefully, watching each movement sink in for the other amphibious man. He tilted his head as he tapped his index and middle finger to his thumb twice. He seemed to think for a moment before patting the air once before performing a claw motion in front of his face. Abe knew the second motion was "Strange or odd" but he had no clue about the first. "Sorry I don't understand" He spoke, along with the movements of his hands. The creature tilted his head, repeating the patting motion, flicking his gills when Abe shook his head again. Elisa, still perched on the edge of the pond repeated the motion along with a sign Abe did recognise. "Young? No, I'm an adult, I haven't grown an inch since 1978" Abe corrected to the confused pair.

The larger amphibian stood blinking for a moment before he trilled, his eyes scanning the water. Abe watched as his hand harpooned into the water at his waist and pulled upwards. At first, Abe thought the creature had just caught a fish from the long flat tail he brought up out of the pond. And then came its scrambling legs. The creature pulled it into their arms, cradling the small being until it became calm. Abe stared, his mouth half-open as he tried to take in the small creature. It was infant-like in shape but it posed more of a resemblance to Abe himself rather than the creature that held it. Its skin was greener, blushed with salmon pinks but it was smoother than the creatures. It's large dark eyes squinted, apparently not used to being held above the surface of the water. Other than the long tail flopped over its parent's arm, Abe could've said it was an aged down version of himself. 

He looked up and down from the two, cogs ticking away in his head as he slowly worked up the nerve to sign again. "You looked like this before" He signed, gesturing towards the juvenile. The creature nodded, using his free arm to sign "Long time ago". They gently sunk the infant back below water and Abe watched it swim faster than he could ever to Elisa's submerged legs. He realised that it must have been in the pond the whole time and was glad the creatures response to him had been friendly. "I'm a juvenile?" He asked as he looked from Elisa to the creature.

"Parents fed you wrong?" Elisa asked, "Hunger makes young take longer to grow" she offered. "No... I was human, like Elisa" Abe explained receiving a confused look from them both. "Man, changed by an organisation... Like Occam" He finger spelt out the companies name and watched spines flicker over the creature. "Bad" he signed and Abe repeated the motion in agreement. He wasn't about to expose his part in the societies plans to morph man into whatever species he had become. "You need food? Crab" Elisa signed to him "Helps grow". Abe shook his head, " I prefer egg" which made Elisa silently chuckle "So do the babies" she signed once she had a hold of herself. "Egg" The creature repeated and Abe remembered that it had been one of the first words communicated with them.

He was about to sign another question when he heard the loud piercing horn from the boat. The creatures frills stood up menacingly while Elisa sunk into the pond. Much like her offspring, once under the surface, she was almost impossible to see. The creature went to launch itself into the water when Abe blocked its view. "It's my boat... Don't worry" he signed frantically. "I should get back, partner worried" He added. The creature trilled quietly as he watched Abe disappear back into the water. 

When he surfaced it caused a screech from one of the boatmen who scrambled back from the edge. Abe smiled when he heard the deep chuckle of his favourite agent. "Have a nice swim Blue?" Daimio asked as he crouched down near the edge. The temptation to pull him into the swampy water was almost overwhelming. "I'd ask you to join me but I don't think kitty cats like water" He purred and accepted Ben's offer to pull him up. "How'd it go? Find anything?" He asked as he led them both back to their quarters. Abe waited until the door was closed before answering "I found them, the asset, Elisa and... Their children". Ben looked surprised as he wrapped Abe's respirator around Abe's neck. The water flushed through his gills, churning the unfiltered water from the delicate area. "They... Thought I was a teenager" Abe admitted receiving a snort. "You are almost Geriatric".

"I know, I didn't believe it either... Then he pulled one of the babies out of their nursery pond" Abe sighed as the water rushed over his neck. "And?" Ben prompted causing Abe to chuckle "If I wasn't such a fan of the gentlemanly folk I might've asked for a paternity test". Ben laughed, "I wonder if that came along with the change" he teased. "Might've, from what I gathered most of them appear androgynous, even Elisa seemed to show some decrease in secondary sexual characteristics?" Abe speaks as he carefully sits in his hammock. "Or you were just a closeted Victorian Dandy" he chuckles again once he is smacked in the shoulder. 

It had grown dark by the time the boat had been turned around to head back to the docks. Abe was sat on the side of the boat, eating his dinner from a metal dish as he watched the lights flicker on the surface of the water. Ben sat beside him, shoulder to shoulder as he smoked. He chewed quietly before noticing the large bag of boiled chicken eggs by his side. They had overpacked expecting the trip to be much longer. Ben looked over as he heard the repetitive noise of the soft objects falling into the water. He raised an eyebrow and Abe replied with a sheepish grin. "We'll stop at the fish market"

Ben shoved him playfully before heading to bed, Abe standing to follow. He cast one last look towards the dark rippling water and saw the river glow with amber yellow.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> I can't believe I just did this.  
> So this started as an inside joke I had about the Asset and Abe. Basically, we headcanon that Abe was the Mexican walking fish of the assets species. An amphibian who never went through his final metamorphism.  
> Also baby assets, their in your drinking water.


End file.
